Cream Puffs with Jasmine Custard

A close up of a Cream Puff on a plate, with Cream and Jasmine

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3 from 3 votes

The fresh choux pastries are light and crispy, and the inner cream flavored with Jasmine tea is exquisite.

Prep Time1

Cook Time30

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: French

Servings: Puffs

Author: Jenny DeRemer

Cost: $1.16 per serving

Equipment

baking sheet
wire cooling rack
piping bag with tip or zippered plastic bag
non stick saucepan

Ingredients

for the jasmine custard

2 tablespoons Jasmine flowers
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons corn starch
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
pinch of salt

for the choux pastry

½ cup water
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
pinch of salt
¼ cup cake flour
3 eggs, beaten well

for the chocolate glaze

½ cup + 1 tablespoon water
1 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 envelope gelatin (1/4 ounce)

Instructions

* if you do not have jasmine flowers, culinary grade rose petals or lavender flowers also work very well; measurements are the identical

Tie jasmine in a square of cheesecloth, securing with cotton string. Place in a medium-size saucepan with milk. Bring milk just to boiling. Remove jasmine.
Stir together cornstarch, sugar, eggs and salt in a small bowl. Stir a small amount of hot milk into cornstarch mixture; stir cornstarch mixture back into milk in saucepan.
Over medium-low heat, cook, stirring until thickened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and strain into a medium bowl.
Let cool slightly, then spoon into a piping bag but do not cut the tip; refrigerate while the choux pastry is made.

Prepare the Choux Pastry

Preheat the oven to 390° - not a misprint, 390°
In a pot, combine the water, butter and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. When the butter is completely melted and it reaches a rolling boil, turn off the burner.
Add the sieved cake flour to the pot. Quickly stir the mixture with a wooden spoon.
When the flour has absorbed the water evenly and the mixture begins to turn gooey, turn on the burner again. Continue to stir the mixture on medium heat until a thin film forms on the bottom of the pot, about 2 minutes.
Place the mixture into a bowl. Flatten it with a spatula and slightly cool it to avoid cooking the egg. Then, gradually add the beaten egg in 4 to 5 individual steps. When the egg is completely incorporated, begin adding another bit of beaten egg.

* achieving the perfect consistency is essential to making choux pastry; to prevent the batter from getting too thin, add the egg a little at a time when it reaches the final stage

Using your wooden spoon, scoop up and drop a bit of the batter back into the bowl. When the choux batter left hanging from the wooden spoon forms a “V” shape, the batter is the perfect consistency.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Dust the rim of a 2" diameter cup with flour and make 12 circles where the choux batter will be placed on the parchment paper.
Put the batter into a pastry bag.
Hold the bag half an inch above the circle and squeeze the batter into a round shape. Repeat filling each of the dozen markers.
With a dampened finger, press each peak of the batter, adjusting the shape. Mist the batter with water thoroughly to help avoid drying.
Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet.
Place the puffs onto a cooling rack and cool completely. Pastries will be very light, have a hard exterior, and sound somewhat hollow.

Prepare the Chocolate Glaze

In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, sugar, heavy cream and cocoa powder. Simmer for about 20 minutes until mixture slightly thickens.
Place 1 tablespoon cold water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over top and let soften 5 minutes. Remove chocolate mixture from the heat and whisk in gelatin mixture until thoroughly combined.
Set over an ice bath and whisk until the glaze thickens and reaches about 80 degrees, about 1 minute.

Assembling the Pastries

Make a diagonal cut into each puff.
Remove the custard bag from the refrigerator and prepare a tip or simply cut the end of the bag 1/4". Open the pastries one by one and squeeze a generous amount of the cream into it.
Set each custard-filled puff on a wire rack with parchment beneath.
Drizzle a teaspoon of the chocolate glaze atop each puff and allow to drip down the sides. Once the glaze has set, use a spatula to move the assembled cream puffs to a flat platter or alternatively, each to an individual paper cupcake liner. Refrigerate immediately. Cream puffs may be enjoyed right away.

Notes

Please Note that table salt and iodized salt are NOT substitutions for Kosher salt. Do not use table salt or iodized salt in any of the recipes you find on Not Entirely Average UNLESS specified otherwise.

Nutrition